During Andrade's early childhood years, Acuña was considered safe for children to play outside. He remembers playing outdoor games with his family during those years. In recent times, the neighborhood where Andrade was raised has been troubled with ongoing violence brought on by drug cartels. Drug leaders intimidated and murdered innocent victims, often forcing residents to migrate to safer regions or countries. The situation became personal in 2012, when a friend of Andrade went missing, never to be seen again. His drawings are the way Andrade coped with the turmoil in his native homeland.​Andrade creates simple narratives based on stories about drug cartel violence. Believing that everyone has childhood memories and can identify with the innocence of youth, Andrade stages his scenarios, using children in place of adults, a strategy for exciting conversation. He omits background details (place and time) allowing viewers to visualize each scene. Wooden sticks, which he remembers playing with as a child, are surrogates for guns. In the series La Patria (Homeland), children appear to be playing war, proudly aspiring to become heroic figures in a uncertain future.